


Growth

by Watermelonsmellinfellon



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: BAMF Higurashi Kagome, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Cross-posted on FFN and Dokuga, Drabble Sequence, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Rating May Change, Reincarnation, Sexist Language, Youkai Higurashi Kagome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 21:54:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18600145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Watermelonsmellinfellon/pseuds/Watermelonsmellinfellon
Summary: Sometimes a ningen soul will become a youkai if it doesn't move on fast enough. Kagome learns what it's like to start off on the smaller side and work her way up through the levels of the youkai hierarchy. The Shikon no Miko was given another chance at life, just not in the way she expected. And that Daiyoukai with his ningen ward is looking pretty fine.





	1. I'm Alive Again

**Author's Note:**

> Kagome died during the final battle, but she gets reincarnated! Her friends don't know it though, and she doesn't know if they're still alive. All will be explained eventually.
> 
> ~.O.~ This is what separates the drabbles. Dokuga was giving me problems on formatting so the chapters were posted like this over there.
> 
> I have this posted on Dokuga and FFN and got a review asking me why I didn't post it here, and I felt bad. So yeah.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**I'M ALIVE AGAIN**

She was small. Ever so small in the long haul. She was a creature born of intent, not even actually  _born_  like most beings were.

Often had the souls of departed ningen moved on to become youkai. It seemed that she was one of them. How did she go from being a miko in her life, to being a youkai in the next? And not even a youkai of at least middle standing. Like an oni perhaps. No, she was a flea.

_A. Flea._

When she had died in the final battle in order to give her friends the victory they so deserved, she hadn’t thought much about what would happen after death, but there she was, in a minuscule body without any kind of powers and no possible way of defending herself beyond being so small that she was hard to see.

Everything was so large and if she wanted to make it across a glade by the end of the day, she’d have to hitch a ride on any animal that passed by.

Her body was so small and she  _craved_. Craved things she had never craved before. As a flea, she knew that she craved blood. And she reluctantly consumed what she could off of birds, rabbits, felines, and anything that passed her by.

Kagome tried not to think about the fact that she drank blood. Tried not to consider how she enjoyed it. While now a youkai, she still retained her rather ningen thought process.

In fact, why was she even aware of her former life? Weren’t reincarnations and such usually unaware of who they used to be?

**~.O.~**

**LIFE OF A FLEA**

Kagome became aware during her ninth week as a flea youkai, that when she drank the blood from other youkai - low leveled ones though - she would grow a little larger.

Eleven weeks into her new life and she noticed that she moved a little faster too. If drinking the blood from youkai was going to help her run faster, she’d find as many as she could.

It was too much of a workout to get to the other side of the field. While all for keeping fit and staying active, Kagome’s tiny body was not capable of handling the stress.

**~.O.~**

**A PLAN**

The whole idea was nice but finding the youkai was a pain. She was so small she couldn’t move fast enough and sometimes the animals she hitched a ride on couldn’t bother to go in the right direction.

Kagome’s second youkai feast came from a little burrow of usagi youkai. She tried to only take enough from each one and departed before any of them awoke to find her. She wasn't big enough to handle confrontation well.

Kagome noticed an improvement in her speed the following week.

A plan began to form. The little flea would make it through this!

**~.O.~**

**HUNTING**

Kagome carefully hid in the bush as she watched the pair of kappa youkai. They couldn't hear or see her. She was so small her scent was obscured by the wind.

She waited for them to drop their defenses. Waited as they were lulled into the sweet call of slumber, before she took what she needed.

From drinking their blood, she learned that she could hold her breath under the water for far longer. Little changes like that occurred the more blood she drank. Kagome hoped it would lead to something good.

It was almost as if she was evolving.

**~.O.~**

**HOPE**

Kagome hadn’t realized until she’d entered her twenty-fifth week of her new life, that she had steadily been growing larger over time. Her preying on the smaller creatures around her had brought her much more strength.

She was no longer the size of a pinky nail, but more like the size of a full grown man’s hand. It was a shock to notice, but it did give her incentive. Maybe one day she’d be the size of a full human again. And then she’d be able to walk everywhere and not get winded from the trip.

She could only hope.

**~.O.~**

**KEI**

Kagome found herself a nekomata! She felt a sort of kinship with the feline. It reminded her of Kirara but with colors reversed. Also, it agreed to be her transportation and even allowed her some of it’s blood when she couldn’t find nourishment.

She named the feline Kei.

Kei had an amazing sense of smell and could find food for Kagome better than the miko turned flea could. He wasn’t large enough to fly yet, but soon he'd grow into that ability and they’d no longer be earth bound!

It was blessing that the nekomata had come upon her and decided to stay.

**~.O.~**

**PRIDE**

Kei found her a lizard that had been terrorizing a village. Kagome had ordered Kei to bring her to the creature, where Kagome sucked it almost completely dry and left the remains for the villagers to finish off.

The lizard was the size of a grown ningen and was capable of speech, making it a little more powerful than her usual fare.

She gained much energy over that creature.

Her sense of smell was enhanced after that, allowing her to pinpoint enemies almost as well as Kei.

She felt a sort of accomplishment and some pride in her new skill.

 **~.O.~**  

**METAMORPHOSIS**

Kagome’s fortieth week as a flea youkai heralded a metamorphosis of sorts.

She had managed to consume enough blood from an ookami youkai that forced her body into a transformation. When she opened her eyes once again, she found that she was larger in height, with hands and feet and even hair once again.

Of course her form wasn’t anything spectacular. She was simply a two foot high, one-eyed oni, but at least it was better than being a flea! She could actually move around now and had claws that would allow her to take down opponents of similar build.

**~.O.~**

**TREK**

Kei kept by her side constantly and did not abandon her simply because she was a new being and capable of moving around on her own.

Together, the two began their trek across the wide island of Japan, taking down all creatures they were able to and fleeing from the creatures who were much too powerful to face.

Kei had also managed to grow, now standing even higher than she did. Soon he’d be able to fly much like Kirara could.

If she listened hard enough, the miko/youkai could understand what some of his yowls meant and would interpret the meaning behind them. Kei was a very straightforward individual.

As she was no longer a flea - for a reason even she didn’t know - she had to consume others. She couldn’t hunt ningen, it just didn’t seem right. So she hunted and ate animals and on the rare occasion, youkai.

**~.O.~**

**SHAPE-CHANGER**

Her claws were curved inward a bit, making a sort of scooping motion when she attacked. They were sharp and capable of leaving wide gashes in the bark of tree trunks.

On the defense, she was good at camouflage. As if she could manipulate her form to match everything around her. It was an interesting ability and she wondered if it had to do with the metamorphosis she had gone through.

Kei was under the assumption that she was a ‘shape-changer’. When youkai grew more powerful they tended to just get larger, not physically change species. She wasn’t so convinced.

**~.O.~**

**FEAST**

They crouched in preparation. Below them was a very large lizard that was trying its hardest to scent them out but was getting confused.

Kagome was perched on a tree limb, blended into the wood. Kei was simply in the other tree, completely out of sight of the creatures.

Kagome waited for the back to turn, before pouncing, bringing her claws down in the same moment and catching the beast’s shoulder, tearing it’s arm off in the process.

Kei too attacked, saber-toothed fangs digging into the other shoulder and taking the being to the dirt.

They feasted well that night.

* * *

**A/N: The first is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**


	2. Move Along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting stronger and moving on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to give y'all the next batch of drabbles quickly.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**GROWTH SPURT**

It was somewhere between her seventieth and seventy-fifth week of this new life that she recognized her growth spurt.

Kagome was no longer a little, two foot, oni youkai. She was the size of a grown man now. It seemed like these changes only occurred when she was asleep. They had to as she would have noticed her body elongating so much over that span of time.

Kei said she was close to her next evolution.

He forewarned that the more she went through, the more painful they’d become.

Kagome wasn’t looking forward to the pain she was in for.

**~.O.~**

**PROBLEM**

While being larger was a lovely thing, she came to regret it very much. It was much more difficult for her to remain silent when her form was bigger.

Her breathing was louder and she actually made noise when she walked.

That was a problem, as she had to learn how to control her body. How to walk carefully but still quickly.

Kei was even insistent on teaching her how to pussyfoot, which was where the lessons came in.

Kei was a persistent little bugger and would not settle for less than the best.

Kagome knew this was going to be a pain.

**~.O.~**

**BOSSY**

“I hate this. I just wanted to get that out there.”

Kagome’s voice was gruff and sort of masculine. Were all oni like this? And if so, were all those she’d faced in her past life actually males?

Kei merely sat where he was, one eye lowering until it was only half lidded. It was the feline equivalent of a raised brow, in a sense. Said feline was merely watching her with a calm demeanor as she struggled to walk daintily.

She was not a cat, she couldn’t  _walk_  like one!

She stumbled, earning a warning hiss. Man, he was bossy.

**~.O.~**

**VICTORY**

Kagome’s speed was a little better but she was too big so her balance was affected.

Still, she dodged the swipe of claws from the ookami and parried with a swipe of her own. Sharp fangs dug into her hand and she howled at the pain accompanying the attack.

Without remorse, she brought her other hand up and dug her claws into the eyes of her attacker, forcing them to scream and flail, attempting to get away.

Lunging forward, she tore their throat out, relishing the warmth of the blood splattering across her face.

She’d won this battle.

**~.O.~**

**DESPICABLE**

The satisfaction of her kill did not last long.

For many days afterward, Kagome had felt terrible. She may be a youkai now, but she was a ningen miko in her former life. To enjoy the slaughtering of her enemy so much was so unlike her.

Kei purred, trying once again, to calm her down. The former miko knew he meant well and was trying to inform her that it was in her new nature to be proud after defeating a worthy foe, but she just wasn’t feeling it.

New nature or not, what she had done was despicable.

**~.O.~**

**FULL MOON**

The one hundredth week of her new life passed without much fanfare. She and Kei had finally gotten into a routine of a sorts and would travel by night in order to hide themselves better.

Kagome could blend in with the darkness very well and with Kei’s nearly completely black form, they were able to get by without many altercations.

Also, low level youkai weren’t as active during the day. The moon actually strengthened most youkai and many preferred to get their business done when at their most powerful. Sleeping in the light was more preferable.

With the full moon coming up, Kagome was looking forward to witnessing what sort of ‘power up’ she’d get.

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE I**

Inuyasha stared out at the vast expanse of the fields surrounding the village. Not too far away, Shippo and Rin were playing a game, trying to keep themselves occupied.

It had been about two years since Kagome had passed and her loss was still felt by everyone.

Even the asshole who he unfortunately called a brother, seemed a little less confrontational. Rin had really liked Kagome after all and had been near inconsolable during the first few months.

She had also sought the icy bastard out frequently for the calm he seemed to emanate.

Shippo turned to Sango for emotional assurance and these days, the runt was much better at keeping his sadness to himself.

The hanyou sighed.

He missed his friend.

**~.O.~**

**ONI**

Kagome backed away from the much larger oni. It was dozens of feet high and was certainly the most dangerous opponent she and Kei had ever come across. It was also watching them very closely and most likely would be able to catch up should they flee.

This meant battle.

It was so large she’d most likely have to knock it down in order to reach it’s head. Her claws were sharper now. She could probably pierce it’s hide and sever the head easily.

They just had to be on the same level.

“Go for the knees,” she whispered to the feline, who gave an understanding growl and took off.

Kei was faster than she was and would be able to navigate in and out of the being’s personal space much easier than she would.

“ **PREY**!” the creature yelled, large hand reaching out in an attempt to bat the nekomata away. Kei deftly dodged and began a fast dance around the feet, slashing at the ankles every now and then.

Kagome dashed forward, slashing at the nearest appendage. She successfully cut off a large toe, which caused the being to lose it's balance. Kei landed a few good cuts and bites to the calves in the meantime.

Jumping high, the feline slammed his paws into the oni’s left knee, forcing the creature backward.

The fall was long and loud, causing the earth to shake when the body connected with the dirt.

Kagome had not been idle, she jumped onto the leg nearest her and began the quick run up the appendage. The great chest was heaving as she traversed it, reaching her destination and dealing a swift blow across the throat.

The blood sprayed and the oni howled it's anger, hand reaching up in an attempt to knock her away. Kei halted the advance, biting into the limb.

As the feline dangled and the oni attempted to shake him off, Kagome managed to finish their foe using an X like motion with her claws to cut the head clean from the shoulders.

Kei had already begun his feast and Kagome wasn’t too far behind him.

They’d managed their first major kill that night.

Celebration was in order. Best to get what they needed before the carrions came.

**~.O.~**

**SERPENTINE**

“ _Mew_!”

Kagome blinked, finding her face fulled of a not so small nekomata. In fact, Kei seemed to be rather large now.

She shifted, pulling herself into a seated position. “What happened?” she asked the feline.

A low roar gave her the explanation she needed. The oni had been a large foe, giving the neko youkai much strength. He was sure he’d be able to fly any day now.

“Congratulations!”

A black tail rubbed against her arm and she looked down, finding a mostly humanoid form.

Her body was now green and covered in large scales. Everywhere.

She’d gone through another metamorphosis while she'd been asleep.

“Am I a serpent now?”

“ _Mew_!”

Apparently just so.

**~.O.~**

**FORM**

Kagome’s new appearance was definitely serpentine. She had two eyes, but lacked a nose, having into two slits instead. She did not have hair anymore, simply a shiny dome of scales, with two scales that pointed up on either side, almost like horns.

Her tongue was long and lips were thin and pale.

Her eyes were a dark shade of amber, with  _three_  eyelids for protection.

Without having to think about it, she knew that getting used to this new form would certainly be a struggle.

At least she had the right amount of limbs now.

* * *

**A/N: The first is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^


	3. Training Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training for growth and capability.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Training and a blast from the not-so-distant past.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**CAMOUFLAGE**

Kagome quickly learned that her green and scaly appearance was perfect for blending in with trees. All she had to do was stay still and most would just pass her by.

Kei had finally learned how to grow and shrink at will, much like Kirara, but his flames weren’t red. They were blue. Still, a small, kitten like creature was much easier to hide than a lion-sized feline.

Kagome simply slipped him between her bosom and yukata when they needed to hide.

**~.O.~**

**TRAIN**

“Mew!”

Kei wanted her to begin training her ‘shifting’ ability. How was she supposed to train something if she didn’t even know if that something existed or not?

There was a warning growl and the miko-now-hebi gulped.

Closing her eyes, Kagome tried to pinpoint the source of her power. When she camouflaged herself, she didn’t actually do anything, her body naturally blended itself with everything around her, when she needed to hide. It was like an instinctual reaction to her distress.

If her body could change colors, then maybe Kei was right in a sense.

She’d simply have to treat this like she had with her reiki. It took time to learn how to manipulate it and eventually she had gotten it.

This wouldn’t hinder her for too long.

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE II**

Kaede stared out at the rolling hills in wonderment. Something had happened. She could just feel it in the air, but no one else seemed to recognize it.

Not Inuyasha, not Miroku and Sango, the children weren’t trained to notice these sort of disturbances. And truly, it didn’t seem to be a disturbance, simply something strange in the air.

It also felt familiar, but it just couldn’t be.

Kagome’s body hadn’t been found. She’d been sent back to her time. Inuyasha had even checked the well just in case and in truth, her presence had even been purified form the air. As if she’d never been there.

So if Kagome was home, how could her spirit touch Kaede from such a great distance?

**~.O.~**

**TONE**

Kagome hated waterfalls.

It was all a part of Kei’s idea in training her youki but she didn’t understand what sitting under a freezing cold torrent of water was going to do about it!

“Mew!”  _Heat your body with your youki._

Yeah, well easier said than done!

“Mew!”

“I  _didn’t_  take a tone with you! I didn’t even ssssay anything!”

Her accented words were annoying. Hopefully she’d go through another metamorphosis soon. The drawn out S was beginning to wear on her nerves.

“Mew!”  _Pay attention!_

“I am!”

**~.O.~**

**RISE**

Kagome rolled under the swing of the kusarigama. Rising in strength also meant a rise in powerful enemies. If she wanted to shift again, she had to consume stronger blood each time. And not just that, but vast amounts of it!

So it meant challenging stronger opponents and defeating them.

The miko/hebi still hadn’t learned how to tap into her youki so all she had was her claws and a tanto she’d acquired on the road when she and Kei took out a small group of bandits. She’d taken a kimono from their spoils, as well as a pair of zori.

Upon Kei’s insistence, she also took a weapon. She had no one to teach her how to use it, but the general idea was there. The pointy end goes outward to hurt the enemy. The hilt remains facing the body.

Simple enough to know.

Kagome raised her blade, managing to get the sickle to wrap around the metal. It became a tug-of-war between she and the youkai. She didn’t know what he was and it didn’t matter, because she was going to defeat him and then eat him.

**~.O.~**

**TORA**

Kei dropped the body of a large tora youkai in their campsite and purred his victory for Kagome.

The miko took note of how much large the body was than Kei and let out an impressed whistle. It was always a matter of pride to take down a creature larger than you, on your own. It showed your strength and Kagome had a few foes where she’d managed to kill them on her own.

“I guessss you’re providing dinner thissss night?”

“Mew!”

Kagome flexed her claws and set to skinning the fallen youkai. Perhaps she could cook the meat.

**~.O.~**

**ENEMY**

Kei’s roar was all she had as a warning.

The miko/hebi sprang up from her place on the tree limb, narrowly missing the large sword that tried to cleave her in half.

The hebi twisted and launched herself from the tree in order to put distance between herself and her foe.

Her tongue slipped from between her thin lips in order to scent the air. It reeked of… mongoose. Really?

“I’m going to eat you!” exclaimed the youkai, it’s beady black eyes focused on her form.

Kagome happened to know that when a mongoose and a snake went against each other, it was a fifty-fifty chance of either winning. Her chances of survival were really high, but so were her chances of dying.

In her peripheral vision, she could see Kei. He was laying on his left side and wasn't moving.

That mongoose bastard! He hurt her friend!

The hebi let out an agitated hiss, her hood flaring out from the sides of her head, making her appear more threatening. Her blood was pumping faster than it ever had before, claws itching to spill the blood of her offender.

She crouched suddenly and sprang forth, deflecting the sword with her tanto and taking a swipe with her free hand, severing the arm wielding the weapon.

She did not relent. The hebi forced her way into the bastard’s space and landed a swift bite to his jugular.

A blow to the side of the head sent her careening backward. The tree she slammed into cracked under the force of her weight.

Only the pained scream of her enemy made her feel better.

All three eyelids blinked and she could feel the first descending, covering her vision in a sort of blob of colors. Shapes weren't very clear now, but the mongoose youkai was a reddish orange color and Kei was more orange/yellow than red.

The mongoose was screaming and tearing at it’s throat, where a large line of bright red seemed to be spreading through his body.

Her venom.

She’d injected him the second she bit him and it was currently working its way through his system.

It was like heat vision.

Cool.

Not waiting, Kagome flipped to her feet and attacked, slamming her claws into his gut and lifting him off the ground. His body shuddered and jerked a few times, before finally going still.

With a sneer, she dropped the corpse in order to check on Kei’s health.

There was a gash on his left shoulder and he could barely move.

The miko/hebi murmured sweet words as she lifted her friend in her arms. She needed to find water.

**~.O.~**

**RECOVERY**

The mongoose lasted them about a week. Kei couldn’t eat too much at once and he was too busy sleeping in order to recover.

Kagome stayed awake for one hundred and seventeen hours in a row, unable to rest when her friend was out of sorts.

She would have to begin training harder now. Learning how to use her weapon or maybe finding a bow and some arrows would do her better. Either way, she needed to learn how to manipulate her venom and her heat vision if she wanted to not suffer these same problems later on.

More training was in store.

**~.O.~**

**SHOW OFF**

Kei’s recovery passed rather quickly in youkai terms, but Kagome was still jumpy two weeks after he’d healed. The feline was insistent. He was fine and she needed to train more. The both of them did.

She was just scared to lose him.

He was her only friend. He couldn’t leave her too.

“Mew!”  _I am well now. We must continue onward._

“Yeah, I know.”

“Mew!”  _Look at my new ability._

She glanced up, finding the nekomata floating in the air beside her, paws engulfed in blue flames. He was looking smug.

He proceeded to do some aerial acrobatics and she rolled her eyes, mood lightening considerably.

“Show off.”

“Mew!”

**~.O.~**

**ARROW**

Kagome’s heat vision picked up a large hoard of youkai. All lower level of course, but still, why did so many gather in one place? Naraku had been destroyed so there was usually no reason for this… unless some new foe had appeared.

She really hoped that wasn’t the case.

The hebi knew there was no running from this hoard. It was too large and they had already taken notice of she and Kei.

She and the feline exchanged looks and gave a simultaneous nod.

The nekomata charged forward, shifting in size. The miko/hebi jumped on his back. She pulled her arrow from her quiver and notched it. Distantly, she could feel something inside reacting to the familiar position. When her arrow released, behind it followed a large beam of red light that obliterated every youkai within several feet of the arrow.

She blinked. It wasn’t reiki, but it reacted much like reiki had. What the hell was it?

“Mew!”

Right. Mid-battle was not a place for new discoveries. She wasn’t powerful enough to just pause what she was doing and hope that her enemy waited for her.

She loosed another arrow, watching as another line of youkai disintegrated within the wake of the power infused with it.

Within herself, Kagome felt alive once again! As if she’d been kept under a tight band of control ever since awakening in this new life.

The miko/hebi could feel that band loosening and now it was time to destroy the hoard of youkai.

She hadn’t felt so free before.

It was exhilarating.

**~.O.~**

**YOUKI**

With Kei’s help, Kagome learned that she could focus what was apparently her youki, into her weapons. Her youki was much like her venom. And her venom/poison reminded her of Sesshomaru and what his could do.

Perhaps her physiology was similar to his?

“Mew!”  _Focus._

“I am!”

“Mew!”  _No Talking!_

The miko/hebi channeled more power into the tanto, trying to see just how much she could fill it with before it hit its limit.

“Mew!”  _Now release it in a single arc!_

She whipped around, moving her arm in a downward slash and watching as a large, black crescent that was crimson at the tips, decimated a nearby grouping of trees.

“Woah.”

That was so cool!

**~.O.~**

**TOTOSAI**

Kagome had made the decision to go to Totosai. Or at least, to see if he was still around. She didn’t think he’d be the type to die easily though, so she was sure he’d still be alive.

It was a relief that Kei was a nekomata and therefore was used to fire.

Touching down on the volcanic lands, she looked around for the cave that Totosai usually resided in.

The miko/hebi carefully entered the mouth of the cave and tapped the wall to get the old youkai’s attention.

Totosai was just as she remembered him. Eccentric and a little crazy. “Yes?" he asked without even looking up.

“Do you forge anything other than swords?”

The old youkai didn’t even look up from whatever he was doing with a dagger as he said, “I can forge anything! It just depends on if I want to or not.”

“Would you be able to make a bow that can double as a blade perhaps?”

He paused and looked up, meeting her gaze unflinchingly. “And what are your reasons for needing a weapon?”

Kagome could practically feel him judging her. She fidgeted a bit, unused to being regarded with such intensity. Especially from him of all beings.

“I have a tanto and when I focus enough youki into it I can create some sort of dangerous attack with it. I’m just worried that if I use too much youki it will break and then I won’t have a weapon for close range. My bow is great when my enemy is far away but I often end up in close quarters with my foes.”

Kagome held his gaze for a while. In fact, she counted seventeen minutes and thirty-nine seconds before he looked away. Seventeen minutes of just staring at each other. He was definitely crazy.

“Come outside and show me this attack you can perform and we shall see.”

Kagome followed him and moved a few feet away so that her demonstration didn’t hurt him or destroy his home. Focusing her youki into the tanto, Kagome lashed out, sending the large crescent shaped attack across the burning expanse of earth. A large trench followed the line of attack which slowly tapered off the further away it got until they couldn’t see it past the steam of the area.

Totosai was rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“You will certainly need a weapon that will help you control your attacks. That could be potentially dangerous should it not weaken the further away it gets. It could even hurt someone.” He sent her a sharp look, “Are you looking to hurt innocent people?”

“ _No_!”

“Okay then!” he said, voice jovial and expression suddenly light.

Crazy!

“As payment for the services about to be rendered, I want you to go out and find me a list of ingredients I need. I’ve been putting it off for a few weeks and this is the perfect chance to get what I need without having to do much for it!”

The youkai went into the cave and came out with a pair of what looked to be pliers and an old scroll.

“Now, open!”

* * *

**A/N: The first is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^


	4. Happenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news and bad news and news that lingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of stuff happens despite so little time passing. Totosai is instrumental in more ways than one. And situations within stretch further than what you see on the surface.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**SHOPPING LIST**

Kagome looked down at the scroll for the umpteenth time that day. When she had agreed to go on some sort of scavenger hunt for the old swordsmith, she had thought that maybe she’d have to go pick some herbs or something similar.

No, he wanted  _not normal_  items.

> **2 lizard eyes**
> 
> **A handful of flowers**
> 
> **Mucus from a human**
> 
> **2 Rabbit feet**
> 
> **Bee wings**
> 
> **Tea leaves**

It was like the shopping list from hell! What did he need it all for?!

Out of everything she had to do, getting the mucus and the wings were the hardest.

All the while, Kei sat by, giving a hissy laugh every time she got stung.

“Laugh it up, kitten. You’ll get yours!” she promised, dodging when the hive attacked again.

**~.O.~**

**WORK**

The miko/hebi was in a very bad mood when she returned to the volcano. Gathering the list had only taken about two days but they had to be the absolute worst two days of her new, young life.

Kagome deposited her collection as well as the list, on the ground in front of Totosai’s work station. The old youkai glanced over and gave a hum, arm still pounding the mallet down on the molten metal. The clang of metal on metal rang through the air.

“Anything else I can do in the meantime?”

She shouldn’t have asked.

**She. Should. Not. Have. Asked!**

**~.O.~**

**GOOP**

“WHAT  _IS_  THIS?!”

Kagome held her green, goop covered hand up to her face for inspection. It smelled horrendous - enough to put Inuyasha to shame when he hadn’t bathed in two weeks - and looked like it was moving up her arm!

It was!

“GET IT OFF! OFF! OFF! OFF! OFF! OFF!”

She stumbled back, shaking her arm repeatedly in an attempt to dislodge whatever it was. It persisted in grossness.

And where was Kei during all this struggle? That bratty feline was lounging in a strip of sunlight, high on a tree branch a mile away!

Kagome’s displeasure was expressed for the entire forest to hear.

**~.O.~**

**SHIKON NO MIKO**

A tired and cranky miko/hebi trudged her way back to Totosai’s home, clutching the body of a deceased raimei youkai that she had to hunt down. The being had apparently been causing the swordsmith trouble as of late, but the old codger hadn’t thought to go deal with him on his own!

Kagome of course took his liver and cooked it for lunch, not sharing with Kei since the neko had decided that sleep was more important than friendship. It was a petty sort of revenge but rarely did Kagome give in to her instincts, so it was fun.

Totosai was holding a longbow. For a moment, she had marveled at how he’d noticed which type of bow would fit her best. Then again, he was used to outfitting people with weaponry on a near constant basis so it wasn’t all  _too_  shocking.

“The entire bow is a weapon. The tips have been sharpened expertly and can be used like a naginata. Best to learn how to use one. The grip is specifically designed for your hand. Should any other attempt to wield your weapon they will find themselves without a limb and their bodies being slowly eaten away by your acidic venom.”

Kagome shivered slightly as he went on to explain the metal used, which was silver, how well in conducted youki and reiki alike, and how her youki was still growing and the power of the bow would only grow with her.

“Finally, you don’t need arrows! Focus your youki into the bow!”

She did so carefully, watching as a thin line of red youki connected both tips, much like a string would.

“Pull on the center and it will form an arrow for you!”

As he said, an arrow made of pure youki appeared and she turned swiftly, taking aim and firing. The youki arrow zipped through the air and felled a bird flying overhead.

Smiling, Kagome turned to the smith and bowed in gratitude. “Thank you, Totosai-san!”

“Anything… for the Shikon no Miko.”

**~.O.~**

**SHINE**

Kagome’s stomach dropped and she blinked in shock and slight fear.

How had he known?

Totosai sat down looking completely unaffected.

“I am much older than you or Inuyasha or even Sesshomaru and his father. I have been around for a very long time and have acquired many abilities over the years. I knew it was you before you arrived. Your soul is the brightest that I have ever encountered after all.”

Kagome looked down at the bow in her hand, the grip was wrapped in a black cloth and the metal was silver and shiny.

“Are you going to join your friends?”

Her head snapped up. “They’re still  _alive_?!” came her incredulous response.

“The final battle was only two and a half years ago,” shrugged the pyromaniac.

_'Only two and a half years ago.'_

She still had friends!

She wasn’t alone.

Feeling much better all of a sudden, Kagome smiled at the youkai. “Very soon then, Totosai!”

**~.O.~**

**BLEND**

With the idea of her friends still being alive, Kagome doubled her efforts into reaching her more ningen form. If she was indeed a shape-shifter, then when she attained a more humanoid form, she would be able to shift to look like her old self.

Kagome had used her old face her entire life and she didn’t want to look any different in her new one.

Kikyo look alike aside - though _she_ had never seen a resemblance between them - she liked how she looked. Her eyes weren’t a natural shade in Japan. Her hair was black but without the usual brown highlights. Her skin was actually tanned and less pale than Kikyo’s had been. Overall, Kagome had not found fault in her appearance and she wanted it back.

Scales were cool and all, but she wanted to blend in with humanity once again!

**~.O.~**

**SHU**

The flesh dangled by a mere strip of skin. Nothing more. Kagome stared down at her left arm, which had been nearly completely hacked off.

She’d seen Inuyasha and her friends get injured. Had even taken an arrow or two to the chest in her former life. Nothing compared to losing a limb, she realized.

Nothing could have prepared her for the pain that accompanied it. The sight of her bone being sawed open and the muscles being severed. How the blood simply poured from the wound and how her nerves were on fire!

She gripped her bow in her free hand and struggled to stand on her own, leaning against the sturdy weapon. The miko/hebi glared at the youkai.

He was a Dai, he just had to be. He was calm and collected, he bore a human form, and his youki was off the charts.

She was certain her strength alone wouldn’t be able to fell him. She was a novice compared to him.

“This Shu does not usually consume hebi, but he shall make an exception.”

He spoke like Sesshomaru did. He had to be some sort of noble then. Referring to oneself was something nobility often did.

His smile was all fangs and not reassuring.

When he came too near, the miko/hebi attempted to lash out at him with her bow, having charged it with her own youki. He simply grabbed her wrist, like her attack hadn’t bothered him in the least. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began to squeeze her wrist until the bones cracked under the pressure, causing her to gasp.

He continued squeezing, a dirty smile lighting his face. He was enjoying her pain.

She then saw it. He was reaching for the bow that had just fallen from her hand. His long fingers wrapping around the grip.

Her eyes widened as red light filled the weapon and shot straight up his appendage. Right before her eyes, the limb began to disintegrate. The Dai stumbled away from her, watching fearfully as the acid continued up and up, his screams echoing through the air.

Kagome sighed in relief when the Daiyoukai was overtaken by his own foolishness and her luck. So much luck.

His youki filled the entire area, even though his body no longer remained. Kagome’s youki rose without her command and seemed to be absorbing the potent youki of the deceased Dai.

Kagome’s body throbbed and she was brought to her knees once again by a sudden, searing pain.

All she wanted in that moment, was to die.

* * *

**A/N: The first is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^


	5. Daiyoukai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some things are finally moving forward!
> 
> The photo at the end is mine. I edited it myself and posted it on Dokuga years ago. That is Kagome's appearance at the end of the chapter. It will change eventually in the future and there's a photo for that too.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**BURNING**

She’d never been awake for a metamorphosis. They’d always occurred while she was resting. Kagome realized very quickly how she took that for granted.

This was hell. Worse than taking an arrow to the chest. Worse than being nearly covered in miasma. Worse than the anguish she felt every time she was compared to Kikyo.

Kagome writhed, or at least hoped she did. As if constant movement would help alleviate the pain of whatever was happening in her body.

The burning like fire through the veins.

The lack of relief.

**~.O.~**

**FLAMES**

While stuck wherever it was and having only pain on her mind, Kagome tried very hard to think of something. Anything else. Anything to get her out of the clutches of the flames.

Pain meant that she was still alive, which was a good thing. It was good that she wasn’t dead. It meant that she would eventually get over this and move on with life. She just had to be patient.

Her youki was increasing and twisting around her form rapidly. Sometimes it would lash out unsuspectingly and then curl inward almost as if to caress her soul.

She could feel the increase and had to wonder just why her youki had absorbed the remaining youki of the fallen Dai. She also wondered why he had come after her at all. It was obvious they weren't on the same skill level and yet he persisted.

Perhaps he had enjoyed toying with his prey?

The former miko shuddered at the thought. That was not a game in her opinion. It wasn’t even sport. More like torture. He thought he was better than she and decided to ‘ _have fun_ ’. His words.

She hadn’t even known who he was.

**~.O.~**

**VULNERABLE**

Kagome didn’t know how long she was under. The pain had become something expectant and eventually she got used to it. Like the burning just didn’t have the same potency as it did in the beginning.

Kagome floated in the darkness with hopes that she’d awaken soon. She wanted to see if Kei was alright. She wanted to get better so she could find her friends.

And then the thought came to her. What if she was in a coma?

She really couldn’t afford such a thing when living in the Sengoku Jidai!

She was vulnerable!

Any youkai could just come by and kill her!

She needed to wake up!

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE III**

Sesshomaru, Lord of the West, lifted his nose only slightly in order to take in the scent filling air. The wind carried it far and did nothing to diminish the potency of it.

There was a Daiyoukai mere miles from their location. The scent was the strangest he had ever come across. It was interspersed with feline, canine, dragon, serpent, and many other scents. Yet they all came from the same being.

His youki crackled in the air, spreading out from his body in order to pinpoint the exact location of this possible foe.

Less than thirty miles due North.

Not in his lands per se, therefore not his problem unless they pass into his territory.

“Sesshomaru-sama, is everything well?”

He cast a glance in his little, ningen ward’s direction. “Hn.”

She gave a bright smile and continued to pluck flowers, humming as she did so. It was nearing the end of their journey and she had promised to find flowers for the houshi's children.

Sesshomaru did not look in the direction of the Dai for the rest of the day.

**~.O.~**

**INVISIBLE**

She was high. High above the trees and face to face with clouds,

Kagome marveled at this new development, but also panicked just a bit. When she looked down, she couldn’t see her body!

She took a step back, trying to see if maybe she was just not paying attention, but there was something different. When she moved she could feel four legs, not two. As in, she was a four legged creature now.

But why couldn’t she see her body?!

She was obviously there. She could feel the earth beneath her feet. She just couldn’t  _see_  anything!

“Mew!”

Kei was floating in the air before her, head swiveling back and forth as he looked around.

‘ **Kei**!’ she tried to say, it coming out as some sort of hybrid wail.

The feline’s head snapped in her direction and he flew closer until she felt him bump right into her nose.

“Mew?” _Where are you, mistress?_

She could feel his confusion in the marrow of her bones.

**~.O.~**

**INUNDATED**

“Mew! Mew mew mew!”  _Focus your youki! You need to enforced your will over it._

Kagome was trying. She really was. It was just so hard because her youki was now much larger and stronger than what she was used to and she had to focus all over again in order to get used to it.

“Mew!”  _Meditate. It will bring clarity._

Kagome lowered herself until she was sure she was laying down in the large field. The trees bents under her weight and she could barely feel them against her sides.

Closing her eyes so that she only saw darkness, Kagome called upon her own energy.

It was red, she knew that. So much like her reiki had been but also very different at the same time. It crackled and sparked.

She took easy notice of how much thicker it seemed to be and there was so much of it too! It was like drowning in a pool of water, without the the water. Inundated in stifling power.

“Mew!”  _Concentrate!_

**‘No need to be so bossy!** ’

**~.O.~**

**SHIFT**

Kagome laid there for who knows how long, simply manipulating her youki around herself, trying to test its lengths and what she could do with it. It could expand and shrink and even cool her off or warm her up.

"Mew!”  _Compress your youki into your body now!_

‘ **What good will that do?** ’

‘Mew! Mew mew mew mew mew!”  _You have been in your true form for nearly a week, mistress. You need to attain a humanoid form now. Youkai compress their youki into their bodies to shift into smaller forms._

With a sigh, Kagome decided to do as he suggested. Her youki wasn’t as wild now, having calmed down since her recent metamorphosis. She had better control of it, though it wasn’t perfect yet.

Slowly it was sucked inward, filling her limbs. Every part of her body was thrumming with youki and she could feel herself changing.

Opening her eyes, she found that the trees beneath her were getting bigger and bigger, until she was looking up at them instead of down. The miko/youkai looked down at herself and gasped in shock.

**~.O.~**

**SWIRLS**

Her skin was a swirling mass of colors. Like outer space riddled with countless stars. The colors fluctuated constantly from dusky red to midnight blue, to black, interspersed with swirls of red, yellow, orange, and purple.

“Mew!”  _There is a river a mile eastward._

Kagome could smell the water and she was moving before she could even realize it. The water was crisp and provided the perfect mirrored surface for her to gaze upon.

Her eyes were simply ebony. No iris, pupil, or sclera. Just a black void. Her skin was still as she had described it, a swirling vortex of colors, ever changing. Her facial structure was mostly the same and her hair was the same shade of black, but extremely long, curling on the ground around her kneeling form.

She had claws and fangs and her kimono no longer fit for it was much too tight in the bosom and hip area.

In terms of becoming humanoid once again, she was pretty close.

Also, her skin was awesome.

The red youki seeping out was ominous though.

**~.O.~**

**DAIYOUKAI**

Kagome finally gained her bearings. She found that her feline companion was kneeling before her mere feet to her left. She was confused, because he had never seen fit to kneel before her before.

The former miko sent her friend a questioning look and asked, "What is wrong?"

“Mew!” _You have attained by your Daiyoukai rank. You are now a higher level than I am._

Kagome blinked because she had not been expecting that. She had simply wanted to get a humanoid form that could actually blend in with other people. That way she could just go back to her friends and live out the rest of her life with them. She hadn't really considered what it meant to rise in the ranks as a youkai.

"You don't need to bow before me, you're my friend. And I really don't like the bowing thing. I hated it when people called me Kagome-sama so much and I don't want this to hinder our relationship. Besides, I don't know anything about being a Daiyoukai, so it's not like I really am one."

The feline inclined his head in her direction, but still remained in the same position, head down to the ground. "Mew! Mew mew mew! _" Kagome-sama, Daiyoukai are considered the greatest of youkai and to have reached such a level after such a short amount of time is astonishing. And the fact that I am considered a friend to one such as you is an honor. Please do not make light of this._

Kagome sighed, knowing that her friend was not going to give this up. He kind of reminded her of A-Un a bit.

On to other matters, what was her life going to be like now that she was considered a Diayoukai, which was apparently what Sesshomaru was also considered?

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

****

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^


	6. Knowing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Kagome to know more than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot progression ftw! Sesshy and Rin come along!

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**AKATSUKI**

Kagome knew that she was much closer than she’d ever been before. Soon she would have a perfect humanoid form and would be able to walk among ningen once again.

As she waited to get control of her youki, the miko/youkai trained with her bow. Now that her youki was much stronger, her attacks were more powerful.

For her claws, she had the Tsume no Chikara, that were actually acid filled and could eat away at anything. She would know, she lost several kimonos and some small weapons. It made the ground corrode too!

She had named her bow Akatsuki, to symbolize her rise into a new life and her promise to always do her very best. It was the dawn of a new Kagome after all.

**~.O.~**

**RINGING**

Kagome sat high in a tree, hands clutched to her ears. With her metamorphosis came a sudden change in her senses. They were so much better than before and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Everything either smelled terrible or was too loud or too bright.

How did youkai deal with this?

“Mew! Mew mew!”  _You need to continue your training if you don’t want to look like a mirage for the rest of your immortal life._

She gave a low whine. “I don’t  _want_  to!”

Her ears were ringing! Maybe being a Daiyoukai wasn’t worth it if this was what she had to live with.

**~.O.~**

**MOODY**

Her bow talked. Or rather, it was capable of sentient thought because it was crafted with one of her fangs. And it was snarky.

Whenever she did something that was either wrong or overall moronic, it would pulse it’s laughter for her to hear. The miko-turned-youkai sneered as she once again had to bear the insults of her own weapon.

“Why did  _I_  have to get the weapon with a horrible attitude?” she grumbled rhetorically, simply whining about her misfortune.

“Mew mew!”  _It was created from your fang and therefore has **your**  powers and overall presence imbued within it._

“Are you saying I have a horrible attitude?”

“Mew!”  _I was simply pointing out the facts, nothing more._

Kagome gave a disbelieving nod. “Uh huh.  _Sure_.”

He was totally calling her moody.

**~.O.~**

**ILLUMINATE**

The full moon illuminated everything around them. Kagome’s skin continuously shifted its color, making her look like a beacon in the night. A patchwork of blues, rusty reds, and blacks, dotted with yellow and white. The smaller colors flickered like Christmas lights tended to. Kagome could no longer hide in plain sight.

Still, her youki swirled around her form, bright red in color. It was much stronger than usual thanks to the pull of the moon itself and she simply felt more powerful on these nights.

“Mew!” _Attempt to change your shape._

She cast a glance in the feline’s direction and gave a nod. Kei was much older than her and had been around for much longer. He would understand the meaning of everything youkai went through, which was why she listened when he spoke. Despite him calling her ‘mistress’, she felt like  _he_  was the one in charge.

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE IV**

Rin was turning eleven near the end of Spring and she had finally gotten the visit she’d been waiting for. Sesshomaru-sama took her on a trip like they used to and they simply traveled anywhere and everywhere.

While he thought she didn’t notice, Rin actually took quick stock of the fact that her Sesshomaru-sama was buying her pretty kimonos in every youkai village they passed.

He cared. He never had to say anything to prove it. And in Rin’s world, actions had always meant more to her than people’s words. Ningen promised a slew of things and never backed their words up. Sesshomaru-sama had never promised her anything, so he wouldn’t want to have to break it for the sake of his lands of even her own sake.

He protected her when she needed it, and while she didn’t need his help in procuring food, he would still point her in the direction of a river or a garden and let her independently fetch her own sustenance.

He did not coddle, but it was obvious that he cared. He allowed a ningen to follow him around the countryside. He bought her fanciful kimonos and taught her how to write and read in their spare time. He never lied. He never abandoned her. He brought her back… twice.

Just being around someone so strong and steadfast was comforting.

Rin skipped along beside A-Un. The ryuu youkai had kindly consented to holding the bags of flowers she intended to pluck.

The glade she was going to however, was already occupied.

**~.O.~**

**RIN**

Kei’s head snapped up and he gave a warning mew that they were about to have company. Kagome had been trying to block out all but her sense of smell when his warning reached her.

She looked up, finding herself confronted with a familiar set of faces, two identical and one on its own.

“Hello!” came the bright voice of none other than Rin. And if Rin was here with Sesshomaru’s steed, then the Daiyoukai of the West would not be far behind.

Internally she was panicking, unsure of what exactly she was supposed to do now that she was faced with the possibility of meeting the people from her former life. Sure, she talked about seeing her friends again, but she hadn’t really considered how they’d take her changes.

The uncertainty scared her, she realized.

The little girl was garbed in a striped kimono that was lavender and white, with little yellow butterflies splattered across it. It slightly reminded her of the design of Sesshomaru’s haori and for a second, she nearly cooed. It was such a cute way to show his favor toward her!

“I’ve never seen a youkai like  _you_  before!” the girl continued, wonder lacing her tone.

She’d somehow dropped the need to refer to herself. Kagome was certain that was a trait she had learned from Sesshomaru. Or maybe she had been emulating him subconsciously. Kagome had always thought it to be adorable either way.

“Neither have I,” confessed the miko/youkai, eying the ryuu youkai as both heads drew nearer in order to sniff at her. Both heads bowed for a second and she didn’t understand why.

“Mew!” _They acknowledge that you are a Daiyoukai and respect that._

Oh.

Reaching out slowly, she passed a hand over each muzzle and smiled reassuringly. The ryuu plopped down right there, eyes attentive.

“So what are you doing?” asked Rin, curiosity piqued.

**~.O.~**

**INTUITION**

Kagome made to answer, but found herself picking up a scent. It was strong and reminded her of dog. Not necessarily a wet dog, but the scent of canine nonetheless. Looking up, she locked eyes with none other that the Lord of the West, as he stood in the shadows of the glade, watching their interaction.

Knowing that he could behead her without her even noticing, Kagome fought to keep herself under control. Dangerous predator that would do anything for his ningen ward should she appear to be in peril. Kagome just had to be non threatening. That’s all.

It really wasn’t as hard as it seemed.

Giving a polite nod in the male’s direction, Kagome once again fixed the little girl with most of her attention.

“I am meditating in hopes of gaining full control of my youki.”

“Oh,” nodded the girl, giving Kagome a deep look.

“You’re very beautiful, though I’m sorry to say that you aren’t as beautiful as my Sesshomaru-sama,” concluded the girl, a sheepish and apologetic grin on her face.

‘ _Her_  Sesshomaru-sama’. Once again, Kagome had to withhold a squeal because it was just so cute!

“There is none alive that could compete with Sesshomaru-sama,” said the female Daiyoukai. And she meant what she said, in many ways.

“True,” nodded the little girl with uncharacteristic seriousness. It was adorable.

Brown eyes assessed the miko/youkai closely. “You seem familiar.”

Kagome was treated to a face full of Rin as the girl tried desperately to find something about her that explained why her intuition was bugging her.

“Pretty black hair, the jawline, the fact that you haven’t told me off because I’m human, it makes you familiar but different.”

With a stumped look, the little girl shrugged. “Can I pick flowers here? We won’t bother you.”

Kagome waved a hand, “I most certainly don't own the land. Do as you please, little miss.”

Rin did cock a brow but went about her task, humming lightly as she descended upon the flowers.

Sesshomaru entered the glade then, with Jaken not too far behind him. The Kappa did not say anything to Kagome. He simply stood by his lord, waiting for instructions.

Sesshomaru’s piercing gaze never left her, even as he seated himself at the base of a large tree. Kagome simply stared back, unsure of what was going on. Only when Rin finished her plucking, did Kagome look away, and that was only because she’d begun murmuring the instructions on how to make flower crowns, to herself. The ones Kagome had actually taught her.

Rin made a mistake at the very beginning and the entire crown fell apart. Her dejected look simply spoke to Kagome's maternal side and the miko/youkai found herself saying, “You are supposed to bind the twine on one end and then braid it until you can tie the other end to it. Once finished, you can add all the flowers you like without them falling out.”

She hadn’t even finished giving her advice when the little girl whipped around, suddenly on her feet as she pointed and exclaimed loudly, “I  _knew_  it was you, Kagome-sama!”

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE V**

“ _Where_  is my mate?!”

The servants prostrated themselves before their Lady, completely terrified for their lives.

“Shu-sama had said he was going for a hunt, my Lady. He traveled in the direction of the Western Lands.”

The female, Neko Daiyoukai sneered. “He has been gone for nearly a fortnight, have you not sent the scouts?”

“We have!” assured the spokesperson for the small group. “His scent disappeared at the border of the West and only the scents of two other Daiyoukai remain.”

“ _Who_?!” demanded the Lady.

“Sesshomaru-sama and an unknown female.”

Citrine eyes narrowed dangerously. “Did Sesshomaru attack my mate?”

“There is no scent of him beyond his presence. He would have had to use more than his claws to fell our great Master, my Lady, and the battle would have left traces.”

“What of the other one?”

“I cannot say, for I do not know, my Lady.”

“Then what use are you?”

The youkai was swiftly beheaded by the Neko Dai.

The enraged female sniffed and ordered, “Send a messenger to question Sesshomaru and this other Dai. We shall see what they know of my mate’s location.”

And if the information was not what she wanted, then someone would suffer dearly.

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^


	7. Poor Miko/Youkai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stress never ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Some questions are answered about what she's doing and her appearance. Some new questions arise though.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**SMART**

Kagome blinked, astonished at how smart the little girl was. What gave her away? Rin was just a ningen, she didn’t even have reiki or youki or youkai senses to help her differentiate between reality and falsity. So how did she know?

“I knew that if you noticed I did the crown wrong, you’d say something about it! You always emphasized having a sturdy structure to work on first. Anyone else would have simply let me go on and on and not know why it was falling apart!

"Also, your face is still the same shape and your hair is the same color, despite being longer now.”

Rin could tell the shape of her face? Kagome couldn’t even tell the shape anymore.

“What happened to you, Kagome-sama?” asked the girl, voice softer now.

Kagome told her.

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE VI**

Sesshomaru was not often shocked. Very few things had happened in his life to really surprise him. However, in the last four years, he had been repeatedly shocked by Inuyasha’s living miko.

The ningen had a horrible sense of dress - he almost mistook her for a harlot until he’d scented her - and she was disrespectful. She dared to turn her tongue on a Daiyoukai Lord and even point a weapon at him! The weapon that neither he nor Inuyasha could draw. She shattered the illusion of the Mu-on’na as if it was nothing, breaking the bonds that Jaken had created for her as well.

While the Kappa was nowhere near his Lord’s level in power, he was admittedly strong for such a small youkai. He had talents that made him the perfect retainer, even if he was too devoted at times.

For her to break the spells he weaved, showed that she wasn’t a normal ningen.

It wasn’t until their second meeting that he learned of her status as a miko, where she once again turned a weapon on him as if she could actually be a threat. For someone with no training at all, he’d at least been impressed with her easy understanding of the battlefield, even when she interfered in honor duels.

The list of her strange actions went on and on. Adopting a Kitsune orphan as her own - much like he had with Rin - was a very important mark in his eyes. While annoying and ningen she may have been, she cared for the kit with everything she had, whether she knew it or not.

Needless to say, Sesshomaru was used to being astounded by the acts of the miko.

This however, made everything prior pale in comparison.

The miko had died, and yet she sat not even ten paces away from him, scenting of at least a dozen different youkai.

How?

**~.O.~**

**IMBALANCE**

“I died. It was quiet and calm and then I was waking up as if from a long nap, and I was a flea. A tiny, flea youkai. I don’t know why I remember my past life, only that I do. It’s hard to be a youkai when I still have my ningen thoughts and views. Being a flea and drinking the blood of creatures was disgusting to my morals, despite tasting good.

"And then I began to change when my prey became youkai.”

She shook her head. That first year as a youkai was hell.

“I was so tiny and I started getting bigger and bigger. I awoke to find myself as a small oni one morning. Steadily I began to grow in size until I could rival a grown ningen. I changed once again, about a year ago. I was serpentine. The form was humanoid in terms of limbs and proportions but I was covered in scales, didn’t have a nose, three eyelids, claws, venom, poison, all the works.”

She crooked her claws, seeing them begin to glow red as a sign of her poison reacting to her thoughts. She cut off the youki before it could get out of hand.

“When I met Kei, he stayed by my side and has been helping me get used to this new life. We have fought many foes together, have been on the brink of death together. Hunt together, feast together. We do everything together.

"He teaches me but it’s difficult because I wasn’t  _born_  in a sense. I don’t have youkai parents or anything. I don’t know what kind of youkai I am, I don’t know anything about youkai manners, I know nothing of my instincts, I don’t know how to handle all these new things, and it’s incredibly irritating to made a mockery of by my own weapon for making mistakes.”

As if to prove her power, the bow that rested on her lap, pulsed a few times. She glared at it and stuck her tongue out for good measure.

Youkai in body, ningen in mind, made for great imbalance within. It wasn’t her fault!

**~.O.~**

**STATUS**

Jaken of course, ended up being the one to speak out of the three capable of speech.

“You have only been gone for three and a half years,” said the Kappa. “It is not unheard of for some youkai to be re-made like you had been, but rarely do they ever reach the same status as Sesshomaru-sama! And it has only been  _three_   _and a half years_!”

Kagome sent the green creature a confused look as she leaned into Kei to ask, “What’s so special about that?”

Kei never got the chance to answer, however.

**~.O.~**

**TRANSFORM**

Kagome could feel the warmth of a hand that most certainly wasn’t her own, wrapping around her elbow. Her kimono sleeve was pushed aside and the miko/youkai was treated to the very odd sight of Sesshomaru of all people, pushing his nose against her wrist and scenting her.

“Um… Sesshomaru-sama, why do you have to be up close for this?”

He did not deign to answer her of course and really she wasn't expecting him to. He did as he pleased, simple as that.

“You smell of many creatures at once. This one scented you days ago and had pondered the likelihood of you being a Shape-changer.”

“Mew!”  _I knew it!_

Kagome sighed. When Kei was right, everyone would know about it. For like the next month or so.

“But how come we could not see what I looked like when in my full youkai form? My body used to blend into everything around me, making it difficult to find me. I do not even know if  _I_  was doing that, or if I was simply invisible.”

Sesshomaru stared for the better part of a minute, before he and Kagome were suddenly encased in a bright, white light and moving as speeds almost too fast for the female Daiyoukai to comprehend.

When they landed, it was an open field far from the male’s ward. Kagome stumbled upon landing, making sure to keep her bow to herself so he didn’t touch it.

“You will transform.”

And then Sesshomaru’s body began to glow red with his youki.

Kagome’s stomach sank.

**~.O.~**

**SHICHIBI**

Staring up at the monstrous canine form of the Western Lord was once again a shock to the system. While he was slightly adorable - though she would never tell him that - he also carried a look of danger and his youki was calm, controlled, and deadly.

A growl slipped through his bared fangs and Kagome flinched, realizing that it was a prompt to get on with the show.

Kagome released the control that she was using to just barely keep her youki in check and the pent up power blasted out from her form. She could feel herself growing and growing until she was eye level with his chin, but when she looked down, she still couldn’t see anything.

Her frustrated growl echoed through the air and Sesshomaru’s crimson gaze was locked onto where she was standing. Kagome froze, feeling like prey under the scope of a vicious predator.

A great paw brought him closer until his muzzle was pressed against her… ear?

And then his youki. It was large and all encompassing, completely covering her from head to toes. It was almost as if it was stroking along her form, searching for something.

She shivered again.

The feeling disappeared and Sesshomaru stood before her once more, looking disinterestedly toward the sky.

With a groan, Kagome pulled her youki inward and began to change as well. Her transformation was nowhere near as fast as his and it took time. She was dismayed when she looked exactly the same as before, with the swirling skin and ebony eyes of doom.

“Your natural form encompasses seven tails that are each of different origin, as well as horns and spines interspersed in the fur. With control comes discipline.”

He turned around and began to walk away. “Come.”

**~.O.~**

**STAR**

Some time the next morning - in which the miko/youkai and the nekomata ended up sharing camp with the mismatched group - Kagome had to sit back and think about something.

Her fingers brushed the little baubles hanging from her ears. She had never gotten them pierced so how were the staying put?

She asked Kei because he was more knowledgeable than she.

‘Pure concentration of youki,’ was his answer. Apparently it was something to help her control by subconsciously focusing her massive energy and compressing it into small, star-like fireballs that dangled from her ears.

“So what would happen if I take it off and toss it away?” asked the female, curious.

“Mew!”  _Most likely a natural disaster wherever it lands._

Oh. Great.

“What if I eat it?”

The feline was silent for a moment, before relenting with a soft,  _I do not know._

**~.O.~**

**MESSENGER**

On the fourth day of joint camping, a Neko youkai blew into their shared space in search of Sesshomaru, bowing and passing off a scroll.

The Dai did not kill the male which was shocking. He also read whatever it was and merely cocked a brow while saying, “He has not stepped foot in these lands in many moons, nor has this one scented him.”

The youkai bowed to the Lord and then surprisingly turned to Kagome, handing her the very same scroll.

She accepted it only because Sesshomaru had done the same and if there was something wrong with it be would have destroyed it on the spot.

She read the message and looked up at the male, “I don’t even know who this Shu person is.”

The youkai seemed insulted by her words, but it was Sesshomaru who filled her in.

“He is the Neko Daiyoukai who reigns over the Northern Isle.”

A feeling of dread seeped into her stomach.

“Does he have red hair?”

The messenger nodded.

Kuso!

Kagome looked down at her weapon and held it up as example. “He touched my bow and disintegrated into nothing.”

“Dis-disintegrate!?!” the youkai repeated, pale face blanching even further.

“I think I was supposed to be his prey, but he was having fun tearing me down. All I know is that he wasn’t injured at all and I was covered in broken bones and mostly severed limbs merely dangling by thin strips of skin. He then tried to take my bow away. Totosai added a special protection to it so that only I may touch it. He’s dead.”

Lying would get her nowhere so she may as well own up to it. Her scent had probably gone sour with her fear and guilt anyway.

The messenger backed away and turned tail to run, when he was stopped by Sesshomaru, who had slipped up behind him in the last second.

“Should your mistress wish retribution against her mate’s foe, she will need to challenge said foe. Shu’s demise is by no fault other than his own foolishness. His prey was more powerful than he.”

The youkai gulped and nodded, fear spiking his scent.

Kagome’s nose wrinkled and she was glad when he departed quickly. Fear was something she could pinpoint easily.

Sesshomaru sent her a look. “You will train, for Oma of the Northern Isle will not take her mate’s death lightly.”

And her stomach dropped again.

**~.O.~**

**CHARGE**

The miko/youkai winced at the grating sound of birds in the morning. Who gave them a right to be happy?!

Her ears were ringing and no matter what she did, it wouldn’t let up.

“Sesshomaru-sama, is there any way to make Kagome-sama feel better?” she heard Rin whisper.

“Hn.”

Her space was suddenly invaded by a lot of white and Kagome found herself extremely close to the other Daiyoukai.

“You will train. Now.”

Kagome was pulled to her feet and once again forced somewhere far from camp.

“Take your stance and defend yourself.”

Then Sesshomaru charged.

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^


	8. Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome has to train for the upcoming showdown with the Lady of the Northern Isle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Kagome gets in that last-minute training.
> 
> -There is much drama and stress.
> 
> -Kagome reaches her final evolution. Pic below!

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**INTERLUDE VII**

“Shu had attacked the female Daiyoukai and died by touching her  _bow_?”

The disbelief in the Neko Dai’s voice was heard by all.

The messenger nodded, head still bowed to the floor. “Yes, my Lady. She claimed Totosai put a protection on so that only she may wield it.”

“Damn that old wretch!” hissed the Lady. “I will simply have avoid the weapon then. Tell of her power. Is she anything like Sesshomaru?”

“No, my Lady. Her youki is wild and uncontrolled. It creates a permanent cloud of red around her body. She confessed to nearly being killed by Shu-sama before he touched her bow. She is weak and the string on her bow is gone, so it does not work any longer.”

Oma drew herself from her throne and stalked down the corridor of the hall. “Then I shall return on the morrow. Make haste Keisuke, this one will see to it that this little Dai breathes her last.”

**~.O.~**

**POISON**

Kagome became overly familiar with Sesshomaru’s Dokkaso. The two Daiyoukai had poison running through their veins and often times the male would instruct her on how to better use it. She also explained the use of her bow’s protection against others, leading to the demise of the Northern Lord.

Sesshomaru very bluntly told her that as she had no formal training, she was weak. That messenger would most likely inform his Lady about it and the Daiyoukai would come to call and challenge the miko/youkai to what she thought would be an easy battle.

Sesshomaru focused only on her use of her poison because it was a last resort and if she wanted to defeat the Northern Lady, she would need to allow the female to get close and then use her Tsume no Chikara.

Kagome hated this.

If that stupid Daiyoukai could have just gone about his business, she wouldn’t be in this position!

**~.O.~**

**BORDER**

Sesshomaru led them across the border of the Western Lands, intent on having the battle take place in Eastern Territory. If Kagome or the other Dai did any lasting damage to the surrounding, it wouldn’t be on his soil.

It was a smart idea. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

On the whole, it left Kagome with time to practice with her youki infused bow. She could move faster now and would most likely be able to wield her weapon better now that she could keep up with higher speeds.

Kagome didn’t want to fight some cranky demoness all because her mate was a moron!

**~.O.~**

**DANCE**

It wasn’t even morning yet when Kagome and Sesshomaru both sensed the incoming presence of a youkai. A rather powerful youkai. The miko/youkai almost groaned because she knew what was about to happen and she hated the very thought.

A Daiyoukai landed in a swirl of blue flames mere meters from Kagome’s seated position. Kagome was toeing the line of the border between the East and West. Sesshomaru stayed on the other side of the invisible line with his pack and Kagome and Kei took the Eastern side.

The woman had hair like a flame. A really hot flame. Like blue fire. Her eyes were the same shade and she looked Kagome up and down with obvious disinterest.

“I, Oma, Lady of the Northern Isle, challenge the female who defeated my mate to an honor duel.”

Jaken had explained what that was in succinct sentences. Kagome had to either kill the demoness or be killed by her. There was no other way.

With a sigh of regret, Kagome stood and approached the female.

“State your name!” commanded the haughty Neko.

“Kagome.”

The miko/youkai held her bow aloft.

“Let us dance.”

**~.O.~**

**ASSESSING**

Kagome noticed the moment the female intended to attack. The demonic slit of her pupil contracted and the Shape-Changer was airborne before the female could land a blow.

Kagome soared upward and away from the mismatched group of travelers. She wouldn’t bring her drama down on their heads. Of course Sesshomaru had already moved Rin’s sleeping form before any danger could possibly come to her. He was attentive to her.

She swung her bow out, filling it with her youki and batting away the oncoming blue, fire ball. Flipping around, Kagome landed on her feet and intercepted an attempt to decapitate her with equally dangerous, yet posion-filled claws.

The two Daiyoukai jumped away from each other, assessing one another.

Without waiting for her opponent to continue, Kagome charged, appearing before the female and landing a punch to her jaw. As the Neko was sent flying, Kagome had to reflect on the fact that she was nothing like her mate had been.

The miko/youkai retreated into the woods and with some youki, she managed to blend into her environment, her swirling skin no longer visible. In order to blend better, she had covered the surrounding forest in her scent and without preamble, released most of her youki into the air.

If everything Kagome was, was saturating the forest, it would be difficult to find her.

Throwing all caution to the wind, Kagome pulled the small, glowing ball off her left ear and tossed it.

She probably shouldn't have done that.

**~.O.~**

**TORNADO**

The moment the star-like ball hit the ground, the entire area exploded in whipping winds that were strong enough to pull the trees right out at the roots.

Kagome, as well as the other Daiyoukai and her guard, were all swept up into the tornado, spinning around and around.

A blue light erupted from the center of the disaster and from it grew a large Neko with five tails of fire thrashing behind her.

Kagome drew at her youki, hoping to absorb it once again. While the miko/youkai worked on getting back to the ground, the Neko looked around, beginning to slam her paws down in hopes of chasing the invisible Daiyoukai out into the open.

The winds cut off as the youki filled Kagome once more and the tiny star was dangling from her ear again.

Her bow lay discarded amidst all the damage done to the forest and Kagome stood atop a fallen tree trunk, watching as those blue eyes tried to find her.

Insulting yowls burst forth, trying to draw her in.

Kagome wasn’t really sure what to do beyond waiting it out and hoping the other tired herself. It would make the victory rather painless in the end. Sesshomaru had told her she’d need to get close and use her poison if she wished to win.

Her bow once again caught her eye and the miko/youkai finally had an idea.

Just then, a jet of blue flames filled the area, illuminating the night. She uttered a curse.

This bitch wanted to win badly.

**~.O.~**

**BOW**

Kagome tucked and rolled, grabbing her bow and flipping to her feet. With a nod to herself, she charged the flame breathing youkai and jumped when the flames ceased.

She felt like she was about to throw a mighty javelin as she readied her bow. The open sight of her enemy’s throat was all she needed and with aim much better than she had ever remembered having, Kagome launched her weapon into the Daiyoukai’s mouth.

The roaring cut off suddenly and the Daiyoukai’s body shuddered, almost like a feline trying to upchuck a furball.

The hacking noises filled the destroyed forest as a red mist seeped from her maw.

“My Lady!” came the worried shout of the guard.

Kagome landed on the balls of her feet, just as the Neko keeled to her left, making the ground shake as she landed. The twitching preceded the haze of red and soon the body was melting away, icy blue mixing with deadly crimson.

Kagome was slightly unnerved as she watched the reaction her bow had against those that touched it. The Neko was literally  _melting_  from the inside out and Kagome had to turn away to retch. She was not proud of what she had to do.

If the cat had just left it alone, this wouldn’t have had to happen, but it was the only way Kagome could think of that didn’t get her monumentally injured in the process.

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE VIII**

Sesshomaru gazed at the swirling pool of purple, the blue of the Northern Lady and the red of the Miko’s youki had blended together, leaving a bubbling pool of acid that was currently eating a hole into the earth.

He had not expected her to win if truth be told. He had not counted on her brash actions but she had managed it. She'd been around Inuyasha long enough to pick up some of his bad habits.

He should not have been surprised. The miko had two more tails than Oma had. Those with more power always prevailed.

The potency of her poison however was as much of a shock as her victory. She had described Shu’s fall as ‘ _disintegrating_ ’ but this was nothing like that. He was only mildly disturbed to learn that another being existed with poison as dangerous as his own. His curiosity was far stronger. He wondered how he would fare against it.

The miko’s body appeared and he could see her crying. Yes, she was still ningen in mind and obviously was not proud of such ' _inhumane efforts_ ' to gain victory.

Many questions were brought forth then.

He needed to make a trip.

Why did she remember her former life? How was she so powerful after such a short time frame? Why was her body absorbing the youki left behind by the Northern Lady?

**~.O.~**

**HOLLOW**

Kagome flinched at the sound of metal grating against metal. She looked up to find Sesshomaru holding Bakusaiga against the unknown guard’s own sword. The guard seemed to be furious.

“Your Lady has died regaining the honor your Lord lost. Do not dishonor their memory,” warned the Western Lord dispassionately.

With a sneer that could put Sesshomaru to shame, the youkai turned tail and fled.

“Well done, miko.”

Kagome curled in on herself, not even caring to acknowledge that her skin was creamy in color once again. She simply wrapped herself around Kei and held on tightly.

This was a hollow victory in her eyes.

**~.O.~**

**SEEK**

Kagome and Kei wandered beside the Inuyoukai’s pack, Rin doing her absolute best to keep Kagome’s spirits up.

Not even mentioning Kagome’s returned complexion made her happy, because she was easily reminded of what occurred to make her look like herself once again.

“Rin, where are we going?” asked the miko/youkai after the third day of travel. It was obvious they were going somewhere, she just didn’t know where.

“My Lord has many questions and when he cannot find the answers, he seeks advice and wisdom.”

“From who?”

“Bokuseno-sama.”

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **Kagome's new appearance. Edit is by me of course. And Kei is with her too.**
> 
> ****

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^


	9. Bokuseno's Wisdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When understanding eludes him, Sesshomaru visits Bokuseno. He takes Kagome along this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -To summarize, Kagome is like the Avatar now! XD

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**SURROUNDED**

Sesshomaru had led them into a dense forest that felt more alive than any other forest she’d been in. There was a thick presence in the air that made her think of the Goshinboku except with it  _everywhere_  and not just focused into one tree.

The miko/youkai spun in place as she took in how close the trees were together and how thick the roots were. Almost as if they were all connected to each other instead to an individual tree.

“Miko,” said Sesshomaru with great authority. “Do you sense something?”

“I feel… surrounded,” admitted the brunet with great reluctance.

“ **That is because you are.** ”

**~.O.~**

**BOKUSENO**

Kagome found herself faced with a massive Magnolia that had a face.

The face was old and seemed wizened with wrinkles, with beady eyes that were staring her down evenly.

“ **I am Bokuseno.** ”

Kagome looked around again, noting the large roots all led to the big tree. In fact, it was the biggest tree in the area, dwarfing all others in height as well as width.

It dawned on her then. “This isn’t a forest. It’s just  _you_.”

The blank expression lightened considerably.

“ **Indeed. I would expect nothing less from the Shikon no Miko.** ”

**~.O.~**

**SHIKON NO TAMA**

“I’m not a miko anymore.”

“ **Perhaps not in body, but the soul remembers, does it not?** ”

She blinked, wondering how he came upon that information. “Yes. How did yo-”

“ **Tell me, Higurashi Kagome, what was inside of you for the first fifteen years of your life?** ” interrupted the great tree.

“The Shikon no Tama.”

“ **Yes. For nearly your entire ningen life you were exposed to the Shikon no Tama, which was kept purified by your pure soul until it was removed from your body. What is the jewel made of, little miko?** ”

“Souls.”

“ **And what kind of souls were inside the jewel for centuries?** ”

“A miko and… several youkai.”

“ **Kikyo was merely the catalyst but you are the true One. When the jewel was burned with her body, her spirit carried it onward, crossing many planes and dimensions until it found the perfect form to be housed in. Which was how you came to be Kikyo’s reincarnation, with the jewel inside your body. From the womb you were exposed to reiki and youki alike, because of the jewel.**

" **You grew in an era that did not believe in youkai or miko and you were never reared to hate either race. With such clear morals and inherent goodness, the jewel prefers to be with you… always.** ”

Kagome frowned, “You make it sound as if-”

“ **As if the jewel is still in existence. That would be because it is.** ”

**~.O.~**

**DISAPPEAR**

Jaken was suddenly overcome by a choking fit and when Kagome turned to look at Sesshomaru - who had remained silent during the conversation - and his golden eyes had widened only slightly.

She faced the tree once more. “How is that possible? I watched is was unmade! It cracked and shattered! There wasn’t even dust left behind!”

The mere prospect of the Shikon still being around was hellish and a nightmare. She didn’t want to deal with the drama it presented again.

“ **The wish you made?** ”

“For it to disappear forever.”

“ **Did you specify where it was to disappear from?** ”

No. She did not.

**~.O.~**

**SPIRITUAL**

The miko/youkai sank to the ground at the realization. “So if it’s still around, where is it?”

“ **Within the very person it chose, of course.** ”

Her hand clutched her side, remembering the last time it was inside her body and what happened to remove it.

“ **The jewel is a spiritual creation and resides within your soul now, Kagome. So long as you remain pure of heart and mind, it will remain pure of taint.** ”

“But I’m a youkai now,” she pointed out. “Youkai can’t purify anything.”

“ **That matters not. Should you die you will once against be reincarnated, and with a soul infused with the Shikon you will once again remember. You will either be a miko or a youkai, there is no other specie possible because of the influence of the Shikon no Tama.** ”

Why couldn’t her life remain as it was?

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE IX**

Bokuseno watched as the small group made camp among his roots for the evening. Sesshomaru had suspiciously remained quiet the entire time and usually - despite lacking in loquacity - he always had something to ask.

The pup was instead, giving the Shikon’s protector his full attention as he lectured her on youkai and what breed she was specifically.

“So wait! Shape-Changer is an actual  _type_ , not just an ability?”

“Hn.”

“Is that why I looked hideous before?”

The little human looked up and pouted, “Kagome-sama wasn’t hideous. You looked otherworldly, but not ugly at all.”

The former miko nodded her appreciation though it was obvious she didn’t agree.

Sesshomaru chose to answer then. “You wished to return to your old form. You have more or less done so by your own willpower. Your true form is what you truly appear as. These ningen-like appearances we choose a merely for better movement.”

The retainer then added, “It is like a second skin to hide you in plain sight. Daiyoukai always have extremely attractive ningen forms. It is to lull possible prey into a false sense of security.”

The miko looked to Bokuseno then for confirmation.

“ **They speak the truth. You wished to look like you did in your ningen life and so you do now, but that is not your true form any longer. It is merely a face. Of course Daiyoukai always have something to tell others of their station, such as the markings you and Sesshomaru-dono bear.** ”

**~.O.~**

**HERSELF**

Kagome ended up borrowing a small hand mirror from Rin in order to see what she truly looked like.

Her hair was still as long as before and just as dark with no highlights. Her eyes were back to the blue she always remembered. Her skin seemed far more pale however. She basically looked exactly the same, but there was a strange, curl like marking above her collarbone, a small stripe on each cheek, which were parallel to her eyes, and a small oval on her forehead. All the marks matched her eyes in color.

She was herself once more, but with elven tipped ears, claws, markings, and better senses, and stronger power. It was good.

Maybe being a youkai wouldn’t be so bad.

**~.O.~**

**REALIZATION**

She took it all back. Three nights in a row. All she wanted was to sit back and relax and she couldn’t even do that because the damn forest was so loud!

She was still coming to grips with the fact that the Shikon was not gone. The damn jewel was smart and according to Bokuseno-sama who was one of the oldest youkai in existence, the jewel decided to banish itself from the Netherworld, meaning that once it was tied to her soul, neither  _she_  nor  _it_  could actually go into the Netherworld. Ever.

Meaning that when she died again, her soul would move on to another body and the process of life would begin anew.

The damn jewel was crafty. She had realized it in the end, but she never knew to what extent. 'Eternal protector' indeed.

This was frustrating enough without the constant creaking of tree limbs and nattering of animals to keep her from internal peace.

“ **Young one,** ” called Bokuseno, “ **come sit among my branches. I can offer solace in times of hardship.** ”

Seeing as he was much older and obviously knew more, Kagome decided to take him up on the offer and carefully pulled herself onto the bough of the great tree, sitting dozens of feet off the ground.

She could physically feel her agitation waning and wondered just how he did it.

“ **My bark is exceptional at dimming youki,** ” the old tree explained. “ **From my bark came the sheaths for Tessaiga and Tenseiga, after all.** ”

The miko/youkai sat up with interest then. She had seen what the sheath of Tessaiga could do.

“Just a sheath made of old wood was capable of stopping one of Ryukotsusei’s attacks?”

“ **Indeed,** ” the old tree acknowledged. “ **Totosai enjoyed regaling that particular battle to me. A commendable feat considering the evil hanyou’s interference in awakening the dragon, and the fact that the pup could not see it and instead scented it out. Inuyasha surpassed his father that day and it marked an awakening of his own realizations of his ability and self worth.** ”

With this new information in mind, Kagome relaxed against the tree and began the breathing exercises that Kei had her do constantly.

Perhaps she may even sleep this night.

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE X**

“She defeated both mother  _and_  father?”

The fact that someone, even a fellow Daiyoukai, had managed to fell a Lord and Lady on her own was most intriguing. It was also a good chance.

That meant she possessed power, and youkai were attracted to power most of all. Unfortunately she was found in the company of the Western Lord and Omashu was not pleased to learn of that.

The Inu already had a head start by knowing the female. Should she prefer canines to felines, his mating of her would be difficult.

They could not allow Sesshomaru to gain any more power! He’d long ago surpassed his sire and his hanyou sibling had managed to as well, leaving the Inu no Taisho behind in terms of strength. Both were now allies of a sorts and having both on the side of the West put the other lands at a disadvantage.

Having a mate powerful enough to kill the leaders of a land, on her own, would surely grant Omashu power.

“Tell of her appearance.”

The messenger snorted, “She was hideous until she absorbed Oma-sama’s remaining youki. Then her skin became clear as milk and she no longer looked disgusting.”

“ _Details_!” hissed the prince.

Flinching at the harsh tone, the youkai said, “Azure eyes and markings, long black hair that could rival the Western Lord’s in length. On the dainty side. Looks delicate but isn’t. Her eyes and markings glow in the dark and her youki is red and swirls around her in uncontrolled wisps.”

Powerful and attractive.

Perfect mating material.

Omashu smirked and made for his chambers. He had a female to woo.

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^


	10. Youkai Habits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Kagome learns more about life as a youkai.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**SOUND**

“You know, it was so much easier to handle sounds when my hearing wasn’t so good.”

Jaken of all beings was the one trying to help her control her senses. Sesshomaru was several hundred years old and had that amount of time to become used to such things. Also, he was born a Daiyoukai and had enhanced senses his entire life.

Kagome’s situation was a rare one and according to Bokuseno, barely anyone ever made it to the level of a Daiyoukai like she had. Kagome had begun her new life as a tiny flea with weak senses and slowly began to progress over the years.

This however, was too much of a leap at once.

“Depending on your skill with your youki, you can use it to either dampen or enhance your senses of smell, sight, and hearing,” explained the Kappa in a slightly grating tone. His superiority came through whenever he was teaching, she could tell.

“You will focus a good percent of your youki into your ears and begin assessing the sounds around you.”

**~.O.~**

**PRIZE**

It was a week after they took their leave of the great tree and his forest, that the small group was - assaulted? - by an unknown. At least, an unknown to Kagome and Kei.

Kei however, didn’t seem to like him, his fur rising on end the moment the scent washed over them.

“Miko,” said Sesshomaru, “learn the nuances in your fellow Daiyoukai. They possess an extra spice in their scent that sets them apart from normal youkai.”

He was quite talkative these days.

Onto the intruder though. When they appeared, reeking of feline and a some sort of acidic scent that she could not place, Kei had yet to cease his hissing and was regarding his fellow Neko with narrowed eyes.

The newcomer had fiery blue hair much like the last Neko Kagome faced. His eyes were red however, not blue. They were slitted and looked a little too confident.

They were also staring her down like she was some sort of prize to be won.

**~.O.~**

**FEMALE**

“You are the Dai that defeated both my Lady mother and Lord father?”

Kuso! He was the son of the other two! Was she going to have to face him now too? That messenger most likely told him about her bow which would mean that she would not have an upper hand in their battle.

Kei hissed even louder and jumped in front of her, transforming fully before he hit the ground. Kei stood higher than a horse at about eight feet. His shoulders dwarfed her head. He’d been steadily growing larger over the years and held no problem with being violent if he needed to be.

**ROAR!**

The other Neko didn’t seem at all offended or affected by Kei's demand for him to leave.

“I am here for the female, not you.”

‘Female’. He called her a ‘female’.

If she didn’t like him before, she sure as hell didn’t now.

Suddenly, six long tails of fire appeared behind him and his chest puffed out.

She merely stared, unsure of what the hell was going on.

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE XI**

Sesshomaru withheld the urge to scoff as the Neko attempted to preen for the miko. Said miko didn’t seem to understand the significance of what was occurring. As she had never been instructed in the manners of youkai, she was not influenced like other youkai females were.

While it was true that most females desired a strong mate and could appreciate that strength, the miko was not the same. She most likely _did_ approve of strength but did not think it was the driving factor in a mating. And while attracted to it, she would not be so easily swept away by power only.

She did not realize the male was trying to assert his strength. A normal female would be gushing at the prospect of a powerful Daiyoukai showing such an interest, but the miko’s lack of response was already beginning to grate the child’s nerves.

“ _Well_?” demanded the child with impatience.

The miko looked to the Western Lord for guidance and Sesshomaru ignored the small part of himself that liked that. Instead, he inclined his head and merely said, “He is posturing for you.”

“I don’t see anything impressive.”

Rarely was Sesshomaru ever in the mood to laugh, but to see the feline’s fur ruffle at her bold statement was most delicious. He kept firm control over himself however.

“Are you not baffled by my strength and amazed at my beautiful tails?” the Koneko demanded, tails fluttering behind him with agitation.

The miko shrugged, “No. I mean,  _I_  have seven tails so it’s really not that impressive.”

Upon saying that, seven tails solidified behind her and her youki began to fill the air.

Sesshomaru decided he would continue to watch unless something untoward happened.

**~.O.~**

**OMASHU**

Kagome frowned, not seeing what was so great about having a lot of tails. She also didn’t know why the cat was so offended.

He took a step closer, chest rumbling with a growl that had Kei shifting in discomfort and anger.

The Nekomata hissed for the male to back up. That Kagome was not looking for a mate.

Mate?

“It is the female’s decision if she wishes to mate this Omashu, not  _yours_ ,” sneered the Neko Dai.

‘Mate’?!

Kagome reacted on instinct when the male lunged, sweeping past Kei easily and invading her personal space. She brought her bow up and almost gutted him then and there. Somehow he had managed to stop himself just an inch before impaling himself on the weapon.

“What the hell is your problem?” she demanded, feeling her own annoyance with this creature rise.

“He wishes to mate you, Kagome-sama!” called Jaken. “It is customary for the prospective mates to battle each other. Should the female submit, she will be mated and marked immediately.”

Wait! They fought until the females could no longer fight and then were pretty much forced into an unwanted mating?

Kagome glared at the Neko. “If you do not leave, I will stab you with my bow, and I’m sure you’ve learned what it can do.”

Red eyes bore into her own. She could feel his swelling youki trying to press her down and goad her into a fight. Kagome retaliated, releasing some of her control and swamping them both in her stifling power.

The male’s eyes went wide and he began to lower until he was on his knees, clutching as his throat.

“ _Leave, now,_ ” she commanded, voice rough with her youki.

With quite a struggle, the Neko began to crawl away until he could pull himself to his feet and flee.

Kagome watched all the while, her youki fluctuating with her anger.

How dare he!

**~.O.~**

**EDO**

Kagome was still angry several days later. The mere thought that some little twit got it in his head that he was going to beat her down and assert himself over her just for some sex, had her mood roiling.

While so caught up in her ruminations and fantasies over what she would do to him should he ever show his face again, she never realized just where Sesshomaru was leading them until they reached their destination.

Kagome paled at the sight of Edo and when all Sesshomaru did was quirk a perfectly arched, silver brow, she may have died internally.

How was she going to face them? Would they even believe her?

Rin gave a cheer and rushed ahead, not caring about anything else. In fact, Kagome cocked a brow, completely shocked as to why she would be happy to be in the village.

“Rin resides here most of the time,” said Jaken. “She will learn to interact with those of her own kind who are actually decent. She had been reluctant at first because of her past with ningen, but Sesshomaru-sama and Kaede-sama believe that she will need knowledge of both species in order to make the proper decision when the time comes.”

Kagome’s eyes flickered to Sesshomaru for a second and she could see his acknowledgement of his retainer’s words.

“Hn.”

He always let Rin make her own decisions and Kagome couldn’t help but find that to be sweet.

**~.O.~**

**SHIPPO**

Kagome followed behind the Western Lord because she was trying to draw on his confidence. Sesshomaru possessed confidence in massive amounts and if she could just get some for herself she’d be good.

Her ears twitched, catching Rin’s voice.

“You’ll never believe who we found during our trip!” the little girl was saying.

“Who?” came a familiar voice.

It was Shippo. Kagome’s heart stuttered for a second.

“Come on, I’ll show you! I already gave a test and she passed but maybe you should test her too so you know she’s real.”

And the sound of footsteps carrying toward them brought the miko/youkai up short as both Rin and Shippo rounded the corner of a hut not too far away and Kagome got her first eyeful of the Kitsune kit in nearly four years.

Teal eyes went wide at the sight of her when Rin pointed her out.

“K-Kagome?”

“Shippo,” she answered softly.

His little chest puffed out suddenly as his nose wiggled, scenting her. He looked doubtful despite the hope blossoming in his gaze. “What special toys did Kagome always bring for me?”

Toys?

Wait!

“Do you mean the crayons?”

He beamed then and crossed the distance to quickly launch himself into her arms with a shout of, “Kagome!” The kit snuggled into her embrace and sighed, his little tail twitching.

“I’m so glad you’re back.”

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE XII**

Inuyasha paused in his chopping. He could smell Sesshomaru and his group plus two more scents that he didn’t know.

Hoisting Tessaiga over his shoulder, the hanyou made his way to Kaede’s hut where he knew the Daiyoukai would be headed. If only to see who the hell was good enough to travel with his brother’s pack.

Of course he wasn’t expecting to hear Shippo’s voice carrying over the village with a shout of, “Kagome!”

Unable to help himself, Inuyasha darted forward, because he just  _had_  to verify this with his own two eyes. Especially when Kagome’s scent was nowhere to be found.

And when he found the runt and Lord Icicle, he did indeed see a Kagome look-alike standing in the middle of the path, holding a crying Kitsune kit.

“Kagome,” he whispered in shock.

Familiar blue eyes met his own and the female who very much looked like Kagome, gave a small smile.

“Inuyasha.”

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^


	11. Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friends are important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I forgot I was sharing this fic here. Sorry.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**STARE**

Her palms were sweating! Her palms were _sweating_!

He was staring like he’d never seen her before. In way, he hadn’t, but still! It was creepy to have someone just stare at you. Strangely enough, Sesshomaru seemed to be fond of doing the same thing.

“Kagome?” he repeated.

She gave a pitiful wave, not really sure what you say to your friend after four years of thinking they were dead.

Inuyasha’s eyebrows lost their arch and she was faced with a blank look. “What was Kagome’s older brother’s name?”

“Okay, you know what, Souta is younger than me by four years!”

“Kagome!”

**~.O.~**

**OBA-CHAN**

Inuyasha was now hugging her too. It was quickly becoming a group hug.

“Kagome!”

Yep, a group hug.

Of all the things she had prepared herself for, being pulled into a hug by her friends had not been one of them.

“You’re back!” came Sango’s voice.

“Kagome-sama!” and that was Miroku.

“Kagome-oba-chan!”

_WHAT?!_

**~.O.~**

**CHILDREN**

There were other tiny people hanging off her and neither of them were in any way as big as Shippo! Kagome simply stood there, waiting for some kind of explanation to present itself.

Brown hair and brown eyes and their hair was cut in a familiar fashion. They were calling her their aunt!

Did she hug them back? They didn’t know each other and her mother surely told her not to go hugging or even speaking to unknown adults when  _she_  was a child!

She turned her wide and confused eyes toward Sesshomaru, hoping that he would provide an answer.

Rin ended up being the one to tell her.

“They’re Miroku-sama and Sango-sama’s children, Kagome-sama!”

Oh.

**~.O.~**

**WORDS**

“Kagome!”

Sango and Miroku has also appeared now, along with Kaede. The husband and wife were each carrying a baby and were unable to wrap their arms around Kagome, but she could easily see the joy shining in their eyes.

“How is this miracle possible, Kagome-sama?” Miroku asked, looking as bewildered as she felt.

Kagome turned to Sesshomaru for guidance and the Inu thankfully took pity on her and motioned toward Kaede’s hut.

“Bokuseno’s words carry much meaning and possibly a foreboding omen. This one shall explain.”

Kagome sent him a relieved grin, grateful that he was much more open these days. Rin did him some good.

**~.O.~**

**OVERWHELMED**

Kaede nodded once the story had been fully explained. Between Kagome’s new life, Sesshomaru’s observations, and Bokuseno’s knowledge, they had finally been able to paint the portrait that would explain just how she was able to be alive when she had died.

The news, while thrilling and jovial in one instance, was also terrifying in another. Basically, the Shikon no Tama was still in existence and there was little chance of it being truly destroyed after combining with Kagome’s soul.

That meant that they would constantly be on the lookout for foes who might be able to sense the jewel and may try to wreak havoc all for the sake of obtaining the jewel.

The prospects were grim, but the Tachi had faced many oppositions before and were just as willing to face these all for Kagome’s sake.

And Kagome was just a little overwhelmed by everything, having forgotten in her years without them, just how caring her friends were.

She had truly missed them.

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE XIII**

Kirara sat primly, her nose upturned as she lounged in the sunlight. Across from her, sat her fellow Nekomata, who had explained that he was Kagome-sama’s companion over the past four years.

He was also a tad too bold for her tastes. He was not as old as she, but he seemed to make up for it in skill.

Just earlier that day, they had faced off in a mock battle and Kirara had, for the first time in her two centuries, lost to a Nekomata.

It was eye opening in a sense, but just because he won did not mean that she had to like him at all. Nor did she have to even look at him if she did not wish to.

Kirara kept her nose up, trying to ignore the pleased purring of her male counterpart.

He was a baka.

**~.O.~**

**TEACHING**

“Time for training!”

Kagome yelped when Inuyasha grabbed at her hair and proceeded to drag her out the door. The sun was shining and it was much too early in the morning for anything like this to be happening, but there he was, dragging her across the village.

“Where are we going and why?” she demanded, though still letting him lead her to wherever.

“Based on what we have learned yesterday, you might just be in danger more often than you used to be. That means that you need to learn to fight properly if you’re going to go around with this damn burden always on your shoulders.”

They reached the clearing the well used to reside in and Kagome spared only a small glance to what she had lost, before facing the other being in the clearing.

Sesshomaru.

“This bastard is better at hand to hand combat and he agreed to teach you how to use a sword the right way. I am better at tracking though, so I will be teaching you how to track. Every day thenceforth, we will be tearing you apart in one way or another to prepare you for the future.

"Especially if you got the prissy Dai still after your ass.”

“Wait!  _Still_?!”

Sesshomaru merely hummed.

Well,  _great_!

**~.O.~**

**REMEDY**

Kagome received many lessons in many things. Jaken even cornered her every now and then in order to impart some form of knowledge that she should know now that she was a Daiyoukai.

She learned that Inuyasha was a lot more knowledgeable than she had assumed. When there was a village wide epidemic of the flu, Inuyasha had disappeared for nearly five hours and returned bearing a large basket Kagome had woven. Inside were various plants and dead animals and youkai.

Inuyasha then took her aside to show her how he made that drink for her when she’d had that terrible cold.

“Where did you learn this?”

“My mother.”

Kagome peered into the pot where Inuyasha had just added sliced up boar liver. “It’ll work on Shippo too?”

“It works on Youkai, Ningen, and Hanyou. I don’t know how mom managed it but she was well known in the village for being a sort of Healer. Having healing skills afforded you some respect, even if you had a Hanyou child.

"When she passed, the villagers had looked to me as I had been under her wing for nearly sixty years and should have learned something. But I hated them and I refused to help people who I felt didn’t deserve it, so I lied and they threw me out.”

“Your mother lived that long?” Normally the ningen in the Sengoku Jidai didn’t make it to fifty.

“Daily consumption of her own herbal remedies kept her healthy. I’ve been making them for Kaede to keep her in good health as well. She’s nearly as old as my mom was after all.”

Kagome withheld an astonished whistle.

It was sweet. Inuyasha tried to come across as a tough guy but inside he was very caring and always looked out for everybody. He just didn’t use words to express himself.

“Now pay attention to this because Oni liver has to be handled with care.”

She focused on the process again, intent on memorizing the remedy for future use.

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^ I'M IN A LOT OF FANDOMS!


	12. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acclimating to normal life once more is easier than Kagome's thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep forgetting I post this here, sorry! T_T

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**ATTENTION**

A sense of normalcy returned to Kagome's life. She was finally among her friends again. She was finally able to just live relatively peacefully. Things were looking up and she was relieved to not have to keep looking down anymore.

Of course Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had their training sessions. And Kaede had taken to teaching her about herbs and remedies.

Sango was teaching her how to properly handle children. Miroku taught her how to properly meditate.

The children taught her that having fun every now and then was a perfectly acceptable thing and that she shouldn't stress herself so much.

And without the impending threat of Naraku hanging over her head, Kagome was finally able to place all of her attention on something and not have to worry that it would be taken away before she finished.

It was good.

**~.O.~**

**MISSION**

Of course nothing was ever super easy.

Kagome did find herself having to destroy low level youkai that came near the village. It was a sort of training mission imposed upon her shoulders by Inuyasha. He wanted her to destroy the enemy with as little damage to the surrounding area as possible.

She found it ironic because whenever  _he_  got into battles with youkai, he always ended up upending the earth and pretty much anything in the area.

Still though, the whole 'mission' was beneficial. It forced her to analyze situations faster than before, so that she could utilize the safest method at a more expedient rate.

Sesshomaru said that she was better at it than Inuyasha was, which made her feel accomplished. Because when did Sesshomaru ever give praise when it was undue?

So it had to show that she was progressing somewhere.

**~.O.~**

**FLOWERS**

"Kagome-sama, come pick flowers with us!"

Rin was free from her duties for the rest of the day, and she had made it a habit to involve Kagome in her daily activities. The girl was not one to leave anyone behind if she could help it.

Kagome still found it fun to simply sit in a field of wildflowers and craft flower crowns. Not having to worry about evil rising on the other side of the island, and thinking about it coming to find her in an attempt to take the jewel and rule the world, was a boon to her existence.

Just relaxing on a sunny afternoon, humming beside the exuberant children as they fashioned enough flower crowns to covered Jaken from head to toe so that nothing of him would be visible.

And the Kappa was unable to escape when Rin presented him with her creations! He looked hilarious in pink and yellow!

Kagome might have also been a little touched by the fact that Jaken had simply stood there and took it. Some things really did change over the years.

**~.O.~**

**INTERLUDE XIV**

Omashu seethed, feeling the insult to his pride, even several moons later.

The female had been much like his mother. Independent and mouthy. While he admired her strength, she needed to learn her place. It was not right for the female to overpower her intended for it was the male who was to be in charge.

It was not how nature worked. The female was to do the job she was gifted with, and provide her mate with whatever he needed whenever he needed it.

The female was beautiful and powerful, which were the only reasons he was willing to excuse her impudence.

She would simply need to be trained properly. But that could come after their mating once he finally secured her and had her far away from the Lord of the West.

However, in order to mate, he needed to get her away from the Western Lands post haste, otherwise his plan would never come to fruition.

Sesshomaru already had the advantage of knowing her personally and if she was around him for far longer than she should be, she might look to him for guidance. In any area.

And that simply would not do.

He had a feeling that the other Dai had already influenced the female and he could not take that any longer.

**~.O.~**

**EXAMPLE**

"Mew mew!"  _Stand straighter! You are a Daiyoukai!_

"I know," Kagome hissed back, glaring at the feline as he got testy and rude. She'd been trying to take on the proper posture for almost an hour and somehow, every time she moved, he found a new mistake in the way she stood.

It was frustrating.

"Mew! Mew mew mew!"  _Use the inu Lord as an example if you must!_

Kagome peeked in Sesshomaru's direction and pouted when she could see how fluid he was even when he wasn't moving! It wasn't fair!

She was still human in mind and mannerisms. She should be given leeway in these matters!

"Mew!"  _Daiyoukai do not slouch!_

"Well this one does!" she countered, nose up in the air.

**~.O.~**

**RELICS**

"So have you considered your future?"

Kagome shrugged. She and Kaede were out in the fields collecting herbs. Kei was lounging in patch of grass a few feet away. Kagome routinely threw pebbles his way as payback for his 'training'. The feline merely lifted a tail to bat them away, ruining her fun.

"According to Jaken, I'm going to pretty much take several millennia before I'm even considered old in youkai terms. So unless I'm killed, I won't die for a very long time. I can see my family again."

She had missed her mother so terribly. When she died, she had regretted never being able to officially say goodbye. But now that she was guaranteed to live for quite some time, she only had to be patient in order to see her family again. And this time, she could do as she was supposed to, and help them out.

But how did Kagome go about providing for her future family?

What could she bring along with her, during her time in the past?

Her eyes widened as the answer came to her.

She would have to bring some things with her! Since her family lived on a shrine, it wouldn't be suspicious if they owned old relics from their country's muddled history.

It was just an idea, but Kagome now knew what she was going to do.

**~.O.~**

**AIM**

"Aim for the underbelly!" Inuyasha instructed.

Kagome twisted her bow around and darted forward toward the massive centipede youkai that had decided to try to make Edo its new nest. Something of which none of them would allow. But this was how Inuyasha wanted to test her growing fighting skills.

Both he and Sesshomaru waited in the background while she was sent to handle the creature. As a Daiyoukai, she was supposed to be able to handle such creatures on her own.

Inuyasha, while a pain in her ass most of the time, still knew what he was talking about. Inuyasha had been defending himself for two centuries and he knew the weak points of every lower youkai one could think of. Kagome wasn't so proud as to ignore his advice.

She slid under the writhing mass, bow raised readily over her head as it cut into the flesh of the creature.

The centipede gave a wail of pain as she successfully cut the lower section of its body into two pieces, her poisoned bow infecting the rest of the being. Slowly, it began melting on itself until there was nothing but a pool of murky brown liquid surrounding her.

Her shoes had been ruined in the process and there was something dripping in her hair.

"Good job," said Inuyasha, though his praise was mostly ignored.

Kagome had to go and bathe for ten years.

 

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Ja ne! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^

**Author's Note:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER FICS! ^-^


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